Vatican beefs up security

Holy See takes on new measures following Vatileaks scandal

Paolo Gabriele, private assistant to Pope Benedict XVI, is seen at left in the front
seat of the popemobile as the Pontiff arrives to lead his general audience in
St. Peter's Square at the Vatican May 2. The former butler was convicted for his
role in the Vatileaks scandal earlier this year. The scandal has reportedly led the Vatican
to beef up security. Paul Haring / CNS.

Following the Vatileaks scandal, Vatican employees face new security measures, according to The Telegraph:

Thousands of clerical and lay staff working inside the walls of the Vatican from the Apostolic Palace to the Secretariat of State will be affected by the tighter scrutiny that will also enable their superiors to monitor when they clock in and out.

The security shakeup was revealed after Claudio Sciarpelletti, the computer expert convicted of aiding and abetting the Pope's former butler, Paolo Gabriele, in the Vatileaks scandal, dropped his appeal on Saturday.

The move came as the three judges who assessed the case raised doubts about Sciarpelletti's credibility and the friendship between the two men.

Sciarpelletti was convicted in November of aiding and abetting Gabriele, who himself was convicted of stealing the Pontiff's private documents and leaking them to an Italian journalist in an embarrassing security breach that rocked the Vatican earlier this year.

The Telegraph also reported that a Slovenian priest, Father Mitja Leskovar, will be implementing the security procedures. He is reportedly nicknamed "Monsignor 007:"

Father Leskovar, who grew up in the former Yugoslavia under communism, is responsible for the transmission of confidential documents between the Vatican and its papal nuncios or diplomats inside the Secretariat of State, and it also supervises all requests for document photocopying within the secretariat.

Read the full story here.